Note: This article discusses the killing and sacrifice of children and may be disturbing to some.
Using CT scans, researchers have revealed new information about four girls believed to have been buried roughly 500 years ago in the Peruvian Andes as offerings to the gods, according to a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
The mummies examined had originally been discovered near the Ampato and Sara Sara volcanoes in southern Peru during the 1990s.
All four mummies were female, estimated to have been between the ages of eight and 14 years old, the study explained, and victims of the capacocha, an important ceremonial ritual of the Inca Empire.
During the capacocha, children, were sacrificed during significant state events, serving as “representatives of their living communities before the deities,” researchers explained in the study.
Mummies identified as four young girls
The youngest of the four, approximated to have been between eight and 10 years old, showed faster bone growth compared to other children buried in ordinary pre-Columbian cemeteries, a pattern researchers explained may reflect a higher social class and level of nutrition of those chosen.
The best-preserved girl, known as Ampato #1 or the “Lady of Ampato,” showed signs of blunt force trauma to the skull, consistent with the moment of death. Her collarbone and pelvis were also noted to be dislocated, likely from being tightly bound during the wrapping of her burial bundle.
Scans of a second girl, Ampato #2, revealed two small holes in her skull, and a previously healed jaw fracture, which researchers explain to have resulted from an earlier injury she had suffered and recovered from before her sacrifice. She also displayed “the highest degree of dehydration.”
Her esophagus was also abnormally wide, potentially indicating megaesophagus, a condition that enlarges the food pipe and can be caused by Chagas disease, a parasitic infection endemic to the Andean region.
Ampato #4’s scans revealed signs of what is believed to have been a “secondary burial,” meaning that she had been moved and reinterred after an initial burial in a different location.
Her skeletal remains were scattered, and stones and textiles had been placed inside her chest cavity, lending credibility to the researchers’ theory. These signs further suggested deliberate post-mortem (after death) preservation and relocation, making this “the only known example of artificial mummification among capacocha victims.”
The study noted that the skull of the fourth mummy, known as Sara Sara, had been partially filled with ice at the time of examination. There were also signs of natural mummification due to the high-altitude of her burial.
During the CT scans, researchers also discovered three decorative shawl pins hidden within her burial wrappings, along with what appeared to be a small wooden pendant.
The findings challenged the historical claim stating that sacrificial victims had to be physically perfect and unblemished, “contradict[ing] archaeological findings, as previous studies show that capacocha victims suffered from various diseases.”